Mathews gets head start on '11

So often in his debut NFL season, Ryan Mathews was stopped just when he was getting going.

Sometimes it’s been his fault. Sometimes it has not.

This time, the fact no games remain will halt the young tailback.

Mathews got his most opportunities and had his biggest day in the Chargers’ season-ending, 33-28 victory over the Broncos on Sunday.

It was a game that pretty much capsulated his rookie season – a show of tremendous potential interrupted by potential disaster.

With uniquely magnificent runs of 27, 12 and 31 yards and a total of 120 yards on 26 carries, Mathews displayed his incredible talents.

He also fumbled twice.

“I still have a lot to work on,” Mathew said after getting fortunate that both of his fumbles were recovered by the Chargers. “I put the ball on the ground twice. That’s going to be a big thing for me in the offseason. I want to say it’s not going to happen again, but it’s football. This game showed me there is a lot I can work on still and just keep getting better.”

Sunday marked the first time since the opener that Mathews had 20 carries and the first time all season he had more 20.

Mostly, that relative inactivity was due to a high ankle sprain in the second quarter of the season’s second game. The ensuing lost games and practice time limited his ability to absorb the nuances of a complicated offense – mostly, his responsibilities in pass blocking. But he also was kept on the sideline a few times because he could not be trusted to not give the ball away.

He fumbled in the season opener at the end of a 15-yard run and then fumbled five touches into the second game, after a catch-and run for 17 yards. He would lose another fumble Nov. 7 at Houston and would later leave that game having aggravated his ankle injury and miss the next two games.

In all, Mathews played the equivalent of nine games, and in several weeks missed at least one practice. The inactivity took away valuable experience that could have helped when it came to choosing running lanes and developing patience.

Sunday, albeit against the league’s second-worst rush defense, Mathews showed on numerous runs that he benefited from the consistent practice time of the past month and the 45 carries he had in the previous three games.

In addition his innate balance, leg strength and low center of gravity, Mathews made veteran cuts, particularly on two of his three touchdown runs.

“I thought he made good decisions,” said head coach Norv Turner, who has not sugarcoated Mathews’ need to develop patience. “… Ryan is an outstanding player. He and (Mike) Tolbert are going to give us a good 1-2 punch like Kansas City and Oakland have.”

Teammates have never stopped believing it will clock for Mathews, who averaged 4.3 yards on his 158 carries. His 678 yards were second to Tolbert’s 735 (on 182 carries).